2 new I-90trail projects funded, Tiger & Olallie!!!

Picking this up from the Silent Swamp thread since we got off topic. Huge news last week about 2 new trail projects. This is HUGE news! Here's a direct paste from the Evergreen Newsletter:

Two Mountain Bike Trails Projects in the I-90 Corridor to Receive Funding

Thanks to a $65 million capital appropriation for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP), a number of new trails open to mountain biking, and long in the planning, are set to receive funding!

Ollalie State Park Trail Development

The 8.6 mile Olallie Trail will climb the forested flanks of Mount Washington above the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and I-90 for 3.9 miles before connecting with abandoned logging roads for a total gain of 2,700 feet in elevation. The plan is to build an initial section of new trail as well as convert the old logging roads to singletrack trails to provide a stunning and challenging backcountry riding experience.

When complete this trail will connect from the John Wayne trail to U.S.F.S. land, and eventually to 20 miles of planned trails on U.S.F.S. land - including the South Fork Snoqualmie trail. As a bonus, you'll enjoy stunning views of the valley and mountains of the I-90 corridor.

This important trail was ranked #1 in importance in its category and Evergreen is grateful to Washington State Parks for their commitment to this trail - and their support of our form of low-impact recreation statewide!

Continued East Tiger Mountain Trail Development This grant will allow the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to develop two new trails, approximately 5 miles in total length, in the east Tiger Mountain State Forest connecting existing and in-progress trails.

These new trails are major pieces of an exciting network of trails designed and built with mountain biking in mind. And they will solidify this area as a destination for quality riding experiences in the I-90 corridor.

One roughly 2.5 mile-long trail will create a singletrack option from Tiger Summit Trailhead directly to the East Tiger Summit Viewpoint as an alternative to the gravel road climb. The second, approximately 2.3 mile-long trail will give riders a sustainable descent trail from the East Tiger Summit to the existing Iverson trail and Tiger Summit Trailhead.
Evergreen has been working with DNR on the concept for these new trails, as well as other trials under construction and recently completed. We truly appreciate the efforts of DNR and South Puget Sound staff in developing world-class facilities for our important and fast-growing form of recreation.

WWRP, a grant program of the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, provides funding for a broad range of land protection and outdoor recreation, including park acquisition and development, habitat conservation, farmland preservation, and construction of outdoor recreation facilities. These grants have been crucial to funding some of our most important trails projects over the years.

The Tiger stuff is obviously great, but for me personally, finally getting Olallie State Park trail funded is a HUGE HUGE HUGE win!

I started working on that project in 2002 when I was Executive Director of Evergreen. Art, Brian Jones and other had been working on it since 1995 for or so when it was originally proposed. Massive amounts of time and dedication have gone into this one, and it's hit several major speed bumps, which we have overcome.

Look at the picture of Mt. Washington in my previous post. The trail goes from the Iron Horse/John Wayne (whatever you call it) trail near Rattlensnake Lake in North Bend, up to almost the top of Mt. Washington. Lots of great terrain, cliffs, views, etc. Iron Horse is at 1100 ft, and the top of the trail will be at something like 3800 ft. That's pretty darn huge for something so close to where a lot of us live!

In 2000 if you had told me any of this would be happening I would have called you delusional. It really is getting better and better! Not just more trail mileage (which in itself is amazing) but multiple locations with long, flowy , sustained descents.

So fantastic. Will we really have epic singletrack less than an hour away ?
Really really happy.
Remember that scene in Shawshank Redemption when after years of writing a letter every week to the legislature they let Andy have some books and make a little library? And Morgan Freeman asked him if he was done writing those letters and he said "Now I'm going to start writing 2 letters a week !"